Through My Window Releases today!

Jayne’s out of town today–attending the COFW conference and meeting her idol–Suzanne Brockman. I begged to be able to help her promote her new release for today.

I have two words to say in regards to Jayne Rylon’s latest Ellora’s Cave release, Through My Window–BUY IT! Seriously. There aren’t words to describe how amazing this book is. You have to read it to believe it!

“Through my window, a sea of strangers swirl and retreat like waves in an ocean of humanity. I brush my hair, fix my makeup and flip on the glaring red light in my booth before turning to face my audience on the other side of the glass.”

For Star, this is another night on the job, though no two are ever alike. Adaptable and perceptive, she becomes many things in the course of one evening—whore, lover, nurse, psychologist and friend. But above all she’s still a woman. Join her, through her window.

Reader Advisory: Novel contains a f/f/m ménage scene.

Excerpt:

Dusk

Through my window, a sea of strangers swirl and retreat like waves in an ocean of humanity. I brush my hair, fix my makeup and flip on the glaring red light in my booth before turning to face them on the other side of the glass.

They begin each evening like still waters. Ebbing and flowing past my window. Unaffected by buffeting winds or brewing desires. Eddying in swirls as they gather, peek around our infamous district with downcast eyes, then scatter—awkward and unsure yet inquisitive.

Curious couples setting out on tandem adventures, young men high on the moral freedom of Amsterdam and clusters of women indulging in a wild night with friends all dip their toes in the pool.

Later, much later, they will roil and crash against the glass in a typhoon of wanton excess—of food, drink, drugs and sex—that never ceases to amaze me.

Or to infect me with its primal power.

Most women shoot me glances of pity if they look at me at all. I feel sorry for them, that they don’t understand. But some…some grin and nod.

Appreciation.

Respect.

Envy.

A select few go further, seeking my services so they can share in the rush for a brief time.

Men are more likely to notice my sincere yearning to please right away. All manner of them from young to old, rich to poor, thin to fat and virile to impotent appraise me with hungry eyes.

Cynics might say my killer curves, mile-high stilettos or long mane of platinum hair are responsible for their focused attention. I don’t buy that. I’m not the most attractive working girl on the block. But I’m one of the busiest.

Customers can sense I’m different than most. They recognize I’m here not because I have to be but because I want to be. I absorb their stares before returning some of my own. The authority they grant me is intoxicating and addicting.

I love enticing a kindred spirit to my lair for both our enjoyment and my profit.

The hot, red lights of my booth, along the canal slicing through the heart of De Wallen, glint off my silver-sequined costume. What little of it there is anyway. The warm air in the space caresses my bared skin each time my neighbors let someone in or show them out.

Satisfaction guaranteed.

Theirs. And mine. Ours.

Hope you’ll pop over to buy Jayne’s book!

Mari

TV Shows

Anyone watching any of the new shows?  What do you think of Hawaii 5-O?  I loved Alex O’Laughlin since he was on Moonlight.  He was on an episode of Ellen the other day.  OMG!  The accent!  He’s Australian.  Hubba hubba.  It’s really too bad that they make these Aussies lose their accent for these TV shows.

I watched Blue Bloods – that one stars Tom Selleck.  He’s obviously not the star, but it looks promising.

Castle has been one of my favorite shows for a while.  I was royally pissed off at the season finale, but it’s obvious the writers can’t get them together or the show will die.

Then of course, there is my love of Leverage and Christian Kane.  Can’t wait for that to come back in December! 

So what shows are you all most looking foward to or like?

Savage Transformation AVAILABLE NOW

Woot!

So it’s out there. It’s live. Is the world ready for shapeshifting Tasmanian Tigers, a feisty Aussie heroine, a gorgeous take-no-prisoners Texan hero and a ruthless hunter with his eye firmly on his prey? I hope so, cause Savage Transformation is LIVE.

Savage Transformation is the second book in my Savage Australia series. When I first wrote Savage Retribution (a looooong looooong four years ago) this tiny little detective from Sydney made a very small appearance. Detective Jackie Huddart had a secret. She was only on the pages of Savage Retribution for all of about 1 and a half of them, but I knew, knew, there was more to her than she was letting on. I didn’t know what it was, but she was hiding something. Something big.

Here’s Jackie when we first meet her in Savage Retribution…

A tiny woman appeared through a massive, white marble archway to his left, her petite, grey-suited frame positively dwarfed by the excess around her. She crossed the floor between the arch and Peter in long, confident strides, the sound of her sensible heels a drum tattoo in the silent house. She drew closer, and Peter made out a smattering of freckles across a pixie-like nose under light brown eyes completely free of make-up. Beside him, Yolanda gave a most inaudible snort. “Dressed by Wal-Mart,” he heard his partner snarl under her breath, German accent thicker than normal.

Peter glared at her and she curled her lip at him.

“Detective Thomas?”

He turned back to the tiny woman and for the first time noticed the Glock in its holster beside her left breast.

You’re slipping. Vischka’s more under your skin that you realise.

“Yeah, I’m Thomas.” He held out his hand. “You’re Huddart?”

Detective Huddart nodded, shaking his hand. “Please, call me Jackie.”

Behind him, he heard Yolanda growl. Low and soft.

Jackie Huddart raised her eyebrows, studying his partner with obvious indifference before seemingly dismissing her altogether. “Did you know your sister was missing, Detective?”

Peter’s chest grew tight. Yes he did. And what had he’d been doing? Fantasizing about a femme fatale like a bad Hollywood gumshoe.

Huddart nodded her head again, obviously not needing an answer. “She’s left you a message upstairs.” Without pausing to see if he followed, she turned and climbed the large staircase dominating the foyer, tiny frame moving up each step with fluid, compact grace.

A hand fell on Peter’s shoulder, followed by Yolanda’s warm breath on his ear. Unreadable blue eyes held his. “Well?”

The contact got his feet moving. In what seemed like three giant steps he stood beside Huddart in a luxurious bathroom twice the size of his own bedroom, towering over her and staring at a message written in some sort of black marker on the wall-to-wall mirror over the sunken bathtub. He swallowed, throat tight and mouth dry.

Det. 45217

Heading Nth

Not hurt

Rex?

Peter read the message again.

“Do you know who Rex is?”

Peter traced the hastily written words on the mirror, recognizing Reggie’s relaxed penmanship. “My sister’s pet lizard,” he answered Huddart. “If anyone called my Area Command and mentioned Rex, Command would know immediately Reggie was somehow involved.”

“Ahh, that explains how Sydney City Dispatch knew the message was from your sister then.” Huddart nodded. “The question mark threw us. We thought it may have been code for something.”

He gave her a quick glance. “Do you know when it was written?”

The petite detective shook her head. “The neighbors across the road contacted us fifty minutes ago. They saw the owner’s XKR Jaguar exit the garage, driven by a male, between the ages of 35 and 40, black hair, Caucasian. They were a little bit suspicious because the owner is bald, in his sixties and apparently in New York.”

The click of six-inch heels on tile announced Yolanda’s arrival. As did the musky scent of her perfume invading Peter’s breath. He turned to her, body wanting to respond to her enigmatic presence. He controlled it. But with far greater effort than it should have required.

A cool, blue unreadable gaze flicked over him before she focused her attention on the mirror. “Kohl?” she asked, although it sounded more like a statement.

Huddart nodded. “Looks that way.”

Peter read the message again. Not hurt.

What did Not hurt mean? Reggie was okay? A willing part of the whole thing? Was he missing something? And what did the mention of her lizard mean? Was she trying to tell him something, or just thinking about everyone else—including the bloody reptile—before herself again? “Do we have a track on the Jag yet?”

“Not yet. Area Command is still trying to contact the owner. He’s proving a little tricky to track down. The car has a GPS based security system but we need the access PIN.” A shadow of sorrow crossed Huddart’s otherwise detached expression. “It shouldn’t be long.” She paused. “Do you know who has your sister?”

Peter’s chest clamped tight. The Irishman? McCoy? He shook his head. “No.”

He turned to see Yolanda’s reaction to his answer.

And found the doorway behind him empty.

“Do you know why someone would abduct her?”

Huddart’s question snapped his attention away from his partner’s unexpected absence. “She’s trodden on some powerful people’s toes.” He shoved his hands into his pockets, stare fixed on Reggie’s message.

Not hurt.

Heading Nth.

“Such as?”

Peter huffed out a sigh. “Anyone who conducts animal testing knows who my sister is. She’s had more than one cosmetic company CEO in—”

Huddart’s cell phone burst into life and, pulling it from her jacket, she held up a pointed finger to Peter: “One moment.”

Can you see what I mean? There was something about the way she made Yolanda prickle that made me wonder just who and what Jackie was. (Those that have read Savage Retribution will know Yolanda had her own secret.)

It took almost two years before Jackie decided to share her secret with me. And boy, what a secret.

Savage Transformation tells of that secret. As well as a few more. And then some. Along the way, there’s lust, desire and danger (this is after all, a Lexxie Couper book *grin*)

After waaaay too many years Savage Transformation releases today at Samhain and is also available on Kindle. But I guess that’s Jackie for you. She’s done a very very good job of keeping secrets

Acronyms…

Every publisher’s website lists all the acronyms for their genres.  Do you know what they are?  What they mean?

Examples:

MM = Male/Male (kinda self explanatory)

FF = Female/Female (again self explanatory)

Now, here come the tricky ones.

MFM = Male/Female/Male – but the reason it’s tricky is the location of the “F”.  This means then woman is the center of attention, the men do not have sex with each other.

MMF = Male/Male/Female – this is the menage, where the woman is having sex with both men, but the men also have sex with each other.

FFM = Female/Female/Males – this is two girls and a guy, and the girls have sex with each other as well as the guy.

GLBT = Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered – self explanatory – girl on girl, boy on boy action. 

BDSM = Bondage and Discipline (BD), Dominance and Submission (DS), Sadism and Masochism (SM)- this usually involves (to varying degrees) whips, spanking, handcuffs, pain play, etc…

CFNM = Clothed Female, Naked Man – I just discovered this one.  This is more of a Dominatrix with a male slave type story.

HEA = Happily Ever After – this will indicate whether the story has a happy ending.

HFN = Happy for Now – this indicates that they don’t necessarily end up together permanently, but are happy for now.  Sometimes this is used in consecutive connected books with a final HEA at the end of the series.

D/s = Dom and sub.

Yaoi = is a Japanese word, which is actually an acronym from the Japanese “YAma nashi, Ochi nashi, Imi nashi”, which means “no climax, no point, no meaning”.   Yaoi tends to involve graphic sex, often with little or no plot. The female equivalent is yuri.

I’m sure there are more, so feel free to add to the list. These are just the major ones I’ve come across making covers.

The 32 Most Commonly Misused Words and Phrases

I found this on another loop, and it’s from a college Professor.  Since most of us are either writers or aspiring writers and readers, I thought it was appropriate. 

I see all these mistakes in my day job too.  It’s not just limited to authors.  I get professional e-mails with several of these mistakes. 

So, let’s get right to the point. Misusing words makes you look less intelligent than you really are. If you misuse words in your writing, it can damage your credibility and diminish the point you’re trying to make. Even worse, it could completely change the meaning of the sentence.

What follows is a list of the 32 most commonly misused words and phrases.

 1. Accept/Except- Although these two words sound alike (they’re homophones), they have two completely different meanings. “Accept” means to willingly receive something (accept a present.) “Except” means to exclude something (I’ll take all of the books except the one with the red cover.)

2. Affect/Effect- The way you “affect” someone can have an “effect” on them. “Affect” is usually a verb and “Effect” is a noun.

3. Alright- If you use “alright,” go to the chalkboard and write “Alright is not a word” 100 times.

4. Capital/Capitol- “Capitol” generally refers to an official building. “Capital” can mean the city which serves as a seat of government or money or property owned by a company. “Capital” can also mean “punishable by death.”

5. Complement/Compliment- I often must compliment my wife on how her love for cooking perfectly complements my love for grocery shopping.

6. Comprise/Compose- The article I’m composing comprises 32 parts.

7. Could Of- Of the 32 mistakes on this list, this is the one that bothers me most. It’s “could have” not “could of.” When you hear people talking, they’re saying “could’ve.” Got it?

8. Desert/Dessert- A desert is a hot, dry patch of sand. Dessert, on the other hand, is the sweet, fatty substance you eat at the end of your meal.

9. Discreet/Discrete- We can break people into two discrete (separate) groups, the discreet (secretive) and indiscreet.

10. Emigrate/Immigrate- If I leave this country to move to Europe, the leaving is emigrating and the arriving is immigrating.

11. Elicit/Illicit- Some people post illicit things on message boards to elicit outrageous reactions from others.

12. Farther/Further- Farther is used for physical distance, whereas further means to a greater degree.

13. Fewer/Less- Use fewer when referring to something that can be counted one-by-one. Use less when it’s something that doesn’t lend itself to a simple numeric amount.

14. Flair/Flare- A flair is a talent, while a flare is a burst (of anger, fire, etc.)

15. i.e/e.g- I.e. is used to say “in other words.” E.g. is used in place of “for example.”

16. Inflammable- Don’t let the prefix confuse you, if something is inflammable it can catch on fire.

17. It’s/Its- It’s= it is. Its=a possessive pronoun meaning of it or belonging to. Whatever you do, please don’t use its’.

18. Imply/Infer- A reader infers what an author implies. In other words, when you imply something, you hint at it. When you infer something, you draw a conclusion based on clues.

19. Literally- If you say “His head literally exploded because he was so mad!” then we should see brains splattered on the ceiling.

20. Lose/Loose- If your pants are too loose you may lose them. That would be almost as embarrassing as misusing these two words.

21. Moral/Morale- Morals are something you want to teach your kids. If your team’s morale is low, you need to do something to boost their confidence.

22. Percent/Percentage- The word “percent” should only be used when a specific number is given. “Percentage” is more of a general term.

23. Stationary/Stationery- You are stationary when you aren’t moving. Stationery is something you write on.

24. Then/Than- “Then” is another word for “after.” Incidentally, the word “then” makes for boring writing. “Than” is a comparative word (e.g. I am smarter than you).

25. There/Their/They’re- There are few things as frustrating as when I look at my students’ writing and they’re misusing these words in their writing.

26. Unique- Something can’t be “kind of unique” or even “very unique.” It’s either one-of-a-kind or it isn’t. There is no in between when it comes to unique.

27. Your/You’re- If I had a nickel for every time I saw this one… yeah, you know the rest. “Your” shows ownership and you’re is a contraction meaning “you are.” Get it right.

28. To/Too/Two- Two is a number. “To” is used in instances such as, “I am going to the store.” If you are supposed to use the word “too,” try inserting the word “extra” or “also.” If one of those fits, you need to also add the extra “o” to make “too.”

29. Lie/Lay- After you lay the books on the table, go lie down on the couch.

30. Sit/Set- Set your drink on the table and sit in your chair. Got it?

31. Whose/Who’s- Whose is the possessive form of who. Who’s is a contraction meaning “who is.”

32. Allude/Elude- When someone alludes to something in conversation (indirectly references), if you aren’t paying attention the meaning may elude you (escape you).

Print this.  Laminate this.  Memorize this.  Please!

Do it, or I’ll send cranky kittie after you.